The ways in which users are able to create digital images through interaction with computing devices continues to expand. However, the techniques used to select and generate colors have not kept pace with this expansion. For example, conventional techniques are limited to selecting a particular hue for a color, which limits functionality that otherwise may be made available to users. Further, these conventional techniques typically rely on complex user interface interactions and thus require expertise that make these systems unapproachable by untrained and novice users.
In one conventional example, a color picker is used to select a fill or stroke color by choosing from a color field and spectrum, which defines the color numerically or by clicking a swatch. A swatch is a named color, tint, gradient, and pattern used to define the named color that are typically defined through a swatches panel and swatch library that are output in a user interface. The swatches panel includes options to select colors, gradients, and patterns for the named color. Therefore, selection of a color in this technique relies on a user's understanding in how to interact with the color field and spectrum numerically and/or through the swatches panel and swatch library, which may be intimidating and confusing to novice and casual users. Further, the result of this selection is limited to conventional colors for rendering in a user interface and therefore does not expand from these colors.
In another conventional example, a color panel is used to apply and edit an object's fill or stroke in a user interface. The color panel typically includes numerical options to select color values, a color spectrum bar, and a color slider. To select a color, a user first selects a color mode (e.g., RGB, CMYK) and then drags or clicks the slider to set numerical color values, enters the numerical values directly as text, or selects a point on a static color spectrum bar. Thus, the user is tasked with manually selecting color values and/or making a selection from the static color spectrum bar, which also requires specialized knowledge and thus may also be confusing to novice and casual users. Like the previous example, this result is also limited to selection of conventional colors.
Therefore, in each of the conventional examples above, a user may take years of practice and training in order to consistently achieve a desired result, e.g., a desired color for use as part of a digital image. As a result, this functionality as implemented by conventional systems may cause users to confuse an initial lack of understanding in how to use this functionality with an inability to do so due to lack of an innate ability. Therefore, conventional systems may be considered to be unapproachable by novice and casual users and further have not expanded beyond conventional use of color as part of the digital image.